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Sumatra

Page history last edited by Hannah Luce 13 years, 12 months ago

 

Earthquake in Sumatra, 2004

By Hannah Luce

 

 

 

Background Information: 

     This earthquake was very intense, with a magnitude measuring somewhere between 9.1 and 9.3 on the Richter Scale.  And a IX on the Mercalli scale, which is out of 12 points.  definition of a IX (9) on the Mercalli Scale.   **(IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb; great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations. Ground cracked conspicuously. Underground pipes broken.)**   The quake occurred in the morning of December 26, 2004 off the western coast of Sumatra.  The earthquake was triggered by subduction, and caused a bunch of very strong Tsunamis along the Indian ocean.  It hit many places, but the Tsunami hit India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka the hardest. 

 

Click here to view a video of the damage:

 

Severity of the Earthquake:

      It nearly killed 230,000 people, in many countries along the coast of the Indian Ocean.  This earthquake triggered a Tsunami with waves reaching maximum heights of 100 feet high.With the death toll and mass destruction caused by this earthquake it is considered to be one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded in history. It is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph.  It was so large that it triggered earthquakes as far out as Alaska and it caused the whole world to shake. The Earthquakes duration lasted between 8 and 10 minutes.  In Northern Sumatra, by just January 1st, 2005, 84 separate after shocks had occurred with magnitudes between 5.0 and 7.0.

 

This is a picture of the seismograph of the Sumatra Earthquake from 2004, this seismograph is from Pennsylvania, 9,000 miles away from the epicenter of the earthquake.  Notice even though Pennsylvania is very far from the epicenter of the quake this seismograph picked it up, with a very short lag time between the P and S waves.

 

 

This is a picture of a seismograph which was recorded very close to the epicenter of the earthquake. 

 

Relief Efforts:

     Many people worldwide worked very hard to raise money and provide help.  It's a good thing because nearly 230,000 people were killed, 10 million homeless, and many more injured.  Worldwide the U.S.A. and many other countries came up with over 7 billion dollars in relief funds.  After the disaster, there was much concern over the survivors health; because all of the dead bodies could have caused an illness so deadly, it would take out most of the survivors.  There over concern was getting water, food, and medical supplies into the countries effected by the earthquake/Tsunami, and this wasn't an easy task either.  The U.S.A. alone donated 35 million dollars and aid. 

 

Location:

     (3.298 N, 95.779 E)

     This Earthquake was located off the coast of Sumatra, which lies on the Indo-Austrailian plate.  The earthquake was caused by the colliding with the Bermuda plate, which is part of the Eurasian plate.  The epicenter of the earthquake was in the same area as three plates converging.  It caused the giant earthquake and it had caused many in the past and it will most likely cause more in the future.   The quake's epicenter lies in between the boundaries of the African plate, the Eurasian plate, and the Indo-Austrailian plate.  This location is a subduction zone, known as the Sunda trench.  Subduction zones cause very intense earthquakes, deep sea trenches, and compression. It lies on a Strike-Slip fault.  The depth of this earthquake was very shallow, possibly as few as 10 km below the surface.  The boundary between the Indo-Austrailian plate and the Eurasian plate slipped for about 1200 km.

 

Recent Activity:

     The most recent Earthquake in Sumatra was September 30, 2009.  This earthquake occurred in Southern Sumatra, vs. the 2004 Sumatran Earthquake.  The 2009 quake was a 7.5 on the Richtor scale.  Unlike the 2004 quake it occurred much further below the surface, approximately 81 km.

 

A Survivor Story:

     This is the email journal of a survivor, written from an internet cafe more inland.  He was located in Thailand on vacation.  Although he wasn't overly close to the epicenter of the quake they witnessed the after effects of the Tsunami. Waves reached the heights of 18 feet, destroying three-four blocks inland.   The hotel that he was staying in, was turned into a place for refugees.  During his stay he had 5 refugees in his room, the people in his room only had water and beer from the minifridge.  They went without food or electricity, but they were lucky enough to

have survived.

Click here to view the journal:

 

Sources:

 

"Off The Western Coast of Sumatra." Ohio Seis. Web. 1 Apr 2010. <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ohiodnr.com/Portals/10/ohioseis/earthquakes/sumatra/tsunami.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey/earthquakes

/sumatra/041226/tabid/8358/Default.aspx&usg=__TNG3BEOTWVorPizj2AIRHHlzQc=&h=271&w=508&sz=55&hl=en&start=18&itbs=1&tbnid=

mP6ddPsUqN9XQM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3D2004%2Bearthquake%2Bin%2Bsumatra%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1>.

 

 "Sumatra Earthquake Seismogram ." Pennsylvania. Web. 30 Mar 2010. <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/hazards/images/sumatraquake.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/

topogeo/hazards/sumatra.aspx&usg=__DMaum0i4GhoRt3oob_53dGfAvuU=&h=391&w=575&sz=23&hl=en&start=

158&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=CkAru1TAEphmoM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsumatra%2Bearthquake%

2B2004%26start%3D144%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26

client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1%C2%A0>.

 

"Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake." Wikipedia. wikipedia Inc., 2010. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_response_to_the_2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake>.

 

"2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake." Wikipedia. wikipedia Inc., 2010. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_response_to_the_2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake>.

 

Pararas-Carayannis, George. " Submit search form The Great Earthquake and Tsunami of 26 December 2004 in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean." The Tsunami Page. George Pararas-Carayannis, 2007. Web. <http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami2004Indonesia.html>.

 

 , . " Magnitude 7.5 - SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA." Magnitude 7.5 - SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA. National Earthquake Informational Center, 2009. Web. <http://seisan.ird.nc/USGS/mirror/earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009mebz.html#details>.

 

Cool Eye For Hot Spots." Barbara Davidson Photography. Web. 1 Apr 2010. <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://magazine.concordia.ca/2006/June/features/featurep3_Page_1_Image_0003_Page_1_Image_0001.jpg&imgrefurl=http://

magazine.concordia.ca/2006/June/features/cooleye.shtml&usg=__gszsiB6Ka4nK8FtxLtfk7OmNtmc=&h=760&w=1141&sz=469&hl=en&start=32&um=

1&itbs=1&tbnid=uT29Njz2D6A2XM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3D2004%2Btsunami%26start%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client

%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1>.

 

Von Feldt, Rick. "Surviving the Tsunami, letter #1."Tsunami Survivor Stories. Redwood City, CA: 2004. Web. <http://phukettsunami.blogspot.com/2004/12/surviving-tsumani-part-1-first-letter.html>.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (1)

coylem@... said

at 8:17 pm on Apr 6, 2010

Hannah, originally I was a little bummed that this event was being covered by two people. Your page is very comprehensive and blows the other 04 page out of the water!

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